U.S. sprinter Noah Lyles created a bit of a controversy when he called out NBA stars for referencing themselves as world champions.
Lyles, who just won three golds (100m, 200m, 4x100m relay) at the World Athletic Games in Budapest, Hungary, criticized NBA players for calling themselves “world champions,” saying NBA players shouldn’t get to say that when they only play in the U.S. and Canada.
“You know what hurts me the most is that I have to watch the NBA Finals and they have ‘world champion’ on their head. World champion of what? The United States?!” Lyles said.
“Don’t get me wrong, I love the U.S., at times, but that ain’t the world. That is not the world. We are the world. We have almost every country out here fighting, thriving, putting on their flag to show that they are represented. There ain’t no flags in the NBA,” he added.
Naturally, NBA stars didn’t take too kindly to the criticism and called out Lyles for his comments.
Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, and Draymond Green all had something to say on social media.
Durant said, “Somebody help this brother.”
Booker left a face-palm emoji, while Green said, “When being smart goes wrong 🤦🏿♂️”.
Although Lyles is technically right, NBA players are considered the best basketball players in the world, which is probably why the NBA Finals winners are referred to as “world champions.”
Lyles certainly didn’t make any friends with his comments.
